Heroes in the Dark

by Iffondrel

Taking place during the School Trip Arc, we center on Tokoyami in the aftermath of Dark Shadow's rampage. Villains wanting to capture Bakugou set their sights on Tokoyami, and the connection these two have had since fighting in the Sport's Festival will decide what'll happen to them after being brought over by Tomura's League of Villains, with devastating consequences for Tokoyami.

62. Chapter 62

Heroes in the Dark chapter 56

Even within the limits of the neglected living room, the two inhabitants were able to keep to themselves for the most part. Tokoyami hesitated to suggest that the situation got "better," but after the initial first few days it became something he was able to adjust to. It was unfortunate, really, how accustomed he was becoming to being pawned off as a responsibility from one villain to the next. But at least here he wasn't left wondering what was in store for him.

Dabi was a cryptic bastard, but he was at the very least somewhat approachable. Not that Tokoyami was ever all too willing to come to the villain with concerns, but on occasion they'd have brief exchanges about quirks, the morality of heroes and villains, and who was going to clean the dishes.

But for the most part, Dabi was… out. What a person like him had going on during the day and even deep into the night, Tokoyami wasn't so sure. A part of him desperately wanted to know, but at the same time he feared the worse from an honest answer. Especially on nights when he came back looking haggard, with that distinct, familiar smell that gave away that he'd been using his fiery quirk for one reason or another. It couldn't be good, and there were times when Dabi would walk by him on his way to pass out in his room, only for Tokoyami to become nauseous at the scent of burning flesh that lingered on him. Tokoyami wouldn't have to say anything, his expression being enough, and Dabi would just mutter something vague like "It was a rough day." At the moment, Tokoyami wasn't about to pry further, and likewise Dabi wasn't about to be upfront about his hobbies.

All the while, Tokoyami kept his beak firmly clamped when it came to talking about everything that happened while he was with Overhaul. He refused to talk about his encounters with the Precepts, about the events that unfolded there, or about Eri. In a way, he could tell that it frustrated Dabi, not knowing, especially after he'd gone ahead and told Tokoyami about what the League ended up doing in the aftermath of Overhaul's fall from grace. If Tokoyami couldn't spill what went on while he wasn't on the scene, then Dabi held the right to being as vague as he wanted.

"You know, I messaged Toga asking about you during that mission. She didn't really have a good answer for me, and after that we lost contact until we were able to meet up again," Dabi said, a question in his mind.

Tokoyami didn't really have much to say to that. "Well… we were off doing our own things, I suppose. You know how it is."

"Is that right?" Dabi drawled. "Then how'd she end up with so much of your damn blood?"

"Th… that was a trade. I didn't want her misusing her powers as someone else," Tokoyami mumbled, his feathers becoming ruffled at the mere mention of the dangerous exchange.

Dabi stared him down with cold blue eyes, unamused. "But it's okay if she misuses her power as you? You're really gonna set yourself up as a martyr like that?"

"…I had my reasons."

"Yeah? I hope it's not more of that "trying to be heroic" crap, because it feels like you're just shooting yourself in the foot over and over. But hey, who needs to worry about a good public image if you're a villain?"

Brief conversations like that were… infuriating. It was also another reason why he didn't want to talk about everything he did. He didn't want to be met with more ridicule for his actions – Dabi was the last person he could expect to get any sort of sympathy from. Which was just as well, because Tokoyami sure didn't feel any sympathy when the villain came back exhausted after a long day of presumably poor decisions.

All things considering, Tokoyami was left unsupervised for a pretty significant amount of the time. Dabi didn't exactly have a schedule he adhered to, but for the most part he was either out doing something or locked away in his room. Tokoyami couldn't tell if his days were spent like this regardless, or if his presence living here made the villain unwilling to hang around.

Either way, Tokoyami was content to explore his freedom of the small living space. Over the span of a week or so, his wounds healed enough that he could walk just fine. Anything strenuous was still difficult, and he couldn't pick up anything heavy, but at the very least all the smaller cuts began to disappear and the gash on his leg was healing just fine. He got better at changing his bandages, too, so that much made things easier.

What was never really made easy was how trapped he felt. His only exits to this space were the boarded up window and the locked door, neither of which felt like a good escape. He'd searched the kitchen and boxes scattered around the living room for tools that could be used to get him out, but of course nothing that useful would be lying around. Most of the stuff here just felt like old junk. If this room was ever set ablaze, it would be a literal dumpster fire. There was no way to pry open the wooden boards covering the window or get through the door in the state he was in. If Dark Shadow was cooperative, such acts of destruction would be a breeze, but unfortunately for him it wasn't going to be that easy.

Tokoyami had spent a lot of time thinking about his quirk. He began talking to the presence in his mind, asking questions and more directly addressing him. While before, his only words to Dark Shadow post the Overhaul fight had been pleas and criticals – poor attempts to get his attention – now he was normalizing more basic conversation. Tokoyami gave up on begging Dark Shadow for cooperation, and made the most of talking. It took some getting used to, since Tokoyami was never able to get a response. It felt like he was talking to himself more than anything, and ultimately it was… lonely. But he wasn't alone. Dark Shadow was still there, he could feel it, it was just that day after day he was met with silence.

Hours passed idly. When Tokoyami got restless, he would pace the area of the room, tugging at the door handles and peering through the boarded up window. But mostly he rested on the couch, reading and playing games. He can't remember the last time he'd had this much wasted down time. Granted, the unusual peace came at a price, but he accepted it all the same. In the ensuing days, he'd also continued his exploration of whatever he could get his hands on.

The most interesting thing came from that box of magazines. Many of them were pretty old and torn up, with burned edges. Some of them looked like Dabi had gone through them just to vandalize the faces of heroes. Tokoyami found that concerning but ultimately not that much of a surprise. There was never a destroyed image of All Might, though. The old number one hero's face was always smiling, his image shining on the glossy paper, and Tokoyami would look upon the unaltered image until his heart began to ache.

It was difficult looking through the magazines and seeing all the heroes he had looked up to, whether their images be distorted or not. The most recent addition to the pile caught his attention, though – it had a large article talking about last term's Hero Billboard Chart ranking. The event was biannual, so this one must've been made sometime in the summer. Before the incident in the forest.

He remembered the rankings vaguely, and there was familiarity with the heroes on the list who retained their position in the top ten pretty consistently, like the old Armored Hero, Yoroimusha, and the Fiber Hero, Best Jeanist. He also recognized Ryukyu on the list, since she was a hero that had been helping during the Overhaul raid. Tokoyami had to admit, turning into a dragon was pretty cool. He wish he could've gotten the chance to see her in action more.

And then Tokoyami got to the page just before the number one hero. Only one of the pages was very obviously ripped out – the article skipped from four to one. Each hero on the list had gotten their own page with an article and hero statement attached detailing their success, but the one that should've had the second and third ranked heroes wasn't even there. Tokoyami had frowned at the discovery, looking between the profiles of Best Jeanist and All Might with concern. There was only a small shred of paper left from where the page was supposed to be. And the only visual on it was the tip of what he instantly recognized to be a red feather. That's when Tokoyami had to close the magazine, a shuttered sigh escaping his beak as he shoved down the nervousness he felt inside him. He put the box away for the time being to return to later.

Dabi didn't seem to care that much about what he got into. Anything of importance was probably shoved away into the darkest corners of Dabi's room. Sometimes Tokoyami would catch himself staring at the door that led to his space, wandering what secrets were in there. But he didn't want to even attempt pulling anything now. Not while he was still trying to adjust to being under Dabi's surveillance.

It wasn't so bad though. It didn't take long for Dabi to make adjustments to provide an actually livable space for him. He got the bathroom light to work, at least, and got some lamps for the main living area. He also pulled out some actual blankets and pillows for Tokoyami to use, which was just as well because it got pretty cold in the room at night. Tokoyami tried asking about heating but it didn't work, except for the water that warmed up if you gave it enough time. But that was just as fine according to Dabi, because apparently he didn't really like having heaters on anyway – it made him too hot. At this point Tokoyami couldn't even tell if he was serious or if the fire-user was just messing with him. He assumed the latter.

Most importantly, though, the bastard actually brought back food and kept the shelves somewhat stocked. Whatever funds he was getting from Shigaraki was actually substantial enough to feed the two of them, because the villain sure as hell wasn't using his own money. It was mostly instant meals and some pantry staples, but that worked just fine. Apparently he remembered enough from looking over Tokoyami before to include apples, chop sticks, and drinking straws for him, which Tokoyami begrudgingly thanked him for. Dabi had remained aloof, though, brushing off his thanks with a shrug.

"Whatever keeps you out of my food," he'd said passively, placing food he wanted for himself on the top shelf where Tokoyami couldn't reach. Everything else was easily accessible to him.

And that was essentially how the first week in this place was spent. It was ultimately mundane, for which he was grateful. It wasn't until after it felt like he'd gotten properly situated that Dabi approached him directly. It was morning still, and Tokoyami was sleeping on the couch, curled up in a nest of blankets with his head nestled into the musty cushion.

The moment a hand touched his shoulder, he was awake. But not in the startled way. Tokoyami's eyes flickered open and he raised his head to look over at Dabi. The villain loomed over him with a serious expression.

Tokoyami buried himself deeper into the blankets. "What do you request of me? Leave me to my slumber until after dawn breaks," he mumbled sleepily.

"Nah, we gotta go. Hurry up and get ready," Dabi said, a little too easily.

That was enough to get his attention. Tokoyami pushed himself up from the couch, throwing off the traces of sleep and looking up at Dabi with wide eyes. "What, you mean we're leaving? Where?!"

"Don't get yourself too worked up over it. It's just that the Leader found a place to set up base and he keeps asking about what we're doing," Dabi sighed. Judging by his tone, he wasn't too excited for whatever this was either. "He says he wants to ensure you're healing and that the things I'm telling him are true. Personally I think the rest of the League just wants to see you. So we're just going to pop into their new place for a bit."

"It hasn't really been that long since we last saw them though, has it?" Tokoyami asked, throwing the blankets off of him and stifling a yawn.

Dabi shrugged. "You've already spent more time holed up here than you did in Overhaul's place, you know. I guess Shigaraki wants to be better about keeping an eye on you, all things considering."

That was always difficult to believe, the fact that his time with Overhaul had only accounted for a few hellish days. Not that he was grateful to be here instead, but it was an improvement. "I just don't see why he'd bother with me now," Tokoyami muttered, rubbing his arm begrudgingly.

"Well, he doesn't exactly have a whole lot of victories. But he has you, and that counts for something. Now hurry up, Bird – I already called a ride for us. They'll be here in twenty minutes."

# # #

Tokoyami donned his cloak over his normal clothes. Dabi advised him from where he was waiting near the door to bring some medical supplies for the road, just in case anything happened. Tokoyami had hesitated at that, eyeing the small pouches Dabi kept strapped around his waist and wondering if they served a similar purpose for if the villain ever had problems with his burns. It sounded like he knew what he was talking about, and Tokoyami pocketed some bandages and disinfectant.

The ride Dabi had mentioned was another person that owed him a favor. All things considering, it didn't seem like Dabi had any friends in the underworld – just a small yet growing reputation and a handful of people that had deals with him. They made their way through the old building and out into a parking lot that was empty but for a single car. Tokoyami climbed into the back of what looked like a modified, outdated police car with tinted windows. Dabi was in the front, talking mildly with their driver, and just like that they were leaving the area.

Tokoyami couldn't help the nervousness he felt at where he was going next. But that feeling was stretched over another – an inexplicable excitement. He was curious to know where the others had found themselves. More than that, this was the first time in a while that he could get an actual look at the part of town they were in, even if it meant just driving through it. That was probably the safest way he was going to see this place anyway. Just from first impressions, it was clear that this area was low-income and crime riddled. Not once during their drive did Tokoyami see a hero, not even in the distance. Despite the tinted windows, he found himself keeping his head down, as if that could hide him even more from the public. If there were no heroes around here, then the only attention he'd get from exposing himself would be from other villains. And after all that's happened with him, it felt like the whole of the underworld had their eyes on him.

After a while, cityscape and buildings faded into country. They drove through agricultural fields and then into forests, leaving Tokoyami to wonder just what kind of place Shigaraki had managed to get his hands on now. Was it a place similar to the underground unit he'd been at before? Or perhaps it was a more formal estate, a building tucked away from prying eyes in the woods.

It had been just over an hour from when they had left. Dabi hadn't said much the whole drive. He was checking his phone, keeping track of the coordinates, when he had the driver pull up next to an old dirt road. "Alright, here is good. Pick us up in a couple hours, and don't be late."

Tokoyami took note of how Dabi specified "us" and opened his door once it had been unlocked. Tokoyami would have expected that if Shigaraki had found a new base, then he'd want Tokoyami to be relocated to it. But Dabi hadn't told him to pack all his things, just a few supplies. Stepping out, the air felt cool and fresh, and he breathed it in greedily. The two of them stood by the side of the road until the car drove off and was gone. A cold wind swept through the trees, and Tokoyami adjusted his cloak to stave off the chill. Even still, a sneeze escaped him and he shuddered.

"Just where exactly are we going?"

Dabi rolled his shoulders and stifled a yawn. Even though it had been daytime for a while now, this was still pretty early for him. "The League are holed up over here, we just gotta follow the directions on foot for a while. Can't have people knowing their location, I guess. Now let's go."

Tokoyami hadn't anticipated a stroll through the woods, but after being stuck in the apartment for the past week it was a welcome change of pace. He stuck close to Dabi's side so that the villain wouldn't snap at him for straying too far. But that could only last so long before Tokoyami started getting tired. Annoyed, Dabi had to slow down a bit so that he could keep up. It didn't help that the terrain was unfamiliar, leading them through what looked like an abandoned construction zone with uneven dirt roads and discarded machinery.

Wheezing and holding his midriff, Tokoyami climbed down a large rock. A quick appraisal of their surroundings showed that they were in something like a quarry, with large chunks of rock piled high and old traces of human activity.

An aggravated sigh escaped Dabi. "Oh god, this is really our destination, huh? What a load of crap," he growled, already walking towards an old building that was constructed in the area long before them.

They walked over to the building. Tokoyami looked around for signs of something bigger, wondering if this location was connected to Shigaraki's Master or if there was a hidden facility after all and this was just a front.

"Oi, there you bastards are! We were hoping you'd get here soon!"

Tokoyami looked up to see Twice leaning out from the broken glass of a second story window. This place didn't look safe at all.

"What're you doing, Twice?" Dabi asked. "This is the place, right?"

Twice came through a door on the second floor and down a set of exterior stairs to greet them. "Yup! Home sweet home! This place is actual garbage – if we could do any better, I'd rather be anywhere else." That last part came off more bitter than he would've expected, and Tokoyami tilted his head to the side, puzzled. "Oh! But more importantly, you got Tokoyami with you! How's the little guy been doin'? Dabi's kind of a bastard, huh? I can't imagine living with him."

"Nor will you ever," Dabi snarled, brushing past him to get to the building. "Now where's the leader? I'm just here because he wanted me to be."

"Everyone's on the first floor!" Twice declared.

Tokoyami looked up at him. "…Everyone, you say?"

He followed Dabi through the sliding door and into the dilapidated building. It was… even worse on the inside than it looked from the outside. The ceiling looked like it was ready to cave in, and broken beams and furniture were scattered throughout the confined space. Tokoyami had seen some pretty shitty places during his time with the League, with Overhaul's residency being the most upscale, but this was hard to look at. It seemed like there'd been some attempt to clean up the area, with the biggest hazards being shoved into the corner and the less compromised furniture being dragged out near the center of the room to be utilized. But the floor was a mess, light fixtures threatened to fall from the ceiling, and it looked like all the shelves had already been ransacked.

And within this room, the rest of the League were sitting around waiting seemingly for nothing.

"This is just sad," Tokoyami muttered, not even realizing he'd said the words aloud.

"Hey, it took us a while to find this place again, so don't bash it," came a growl from the corner. Tokoyami looked over to see familiar red eyes peering out at him from under a tangled mess of light blue hair. Shigaraki glowered at him from where he was leaning back in a trashed recliner chair. But the venom in his voice didn't really match the rest of him. He looked offended more than anything.

"Fumikage came back to play! I was hoping you'd be here soon~"

Tokoyami turned abruptly to Toga, who'd bounced to her feet the moment he'd come through the door. "Toga, I have no intention of doing any such thing, so don't test me," he snapped. Toga whined at the injustice of it all, plopping back down onto her chair with crossed arms. But beneath that she was smiling, and her eyes still sparkled mischievously. Tokoyami had played her games for a long time by this point. She wasn't the kind of person you could be uncertain around, but she would leave him alone if he gave her a firm answer.

"All that aside, I'm glad to see you wearing the cloak I gave you!" Mr. Compress declared, stepping out from the shadows with a grand sweeping gesture.

Tokoyami looked him up and down. "Hm. I actually forgot that you were the one who gave it to me."

He could see the man deflate at the abrupt response. "Ah. I see."

"Yup, everyone can see," Dabi interjected impatiently. "The Bird's doing just fine, so it's nothing any of you need to worry about. But I know that's not the only reason why you wanted us here, so hurry up with that part. I'd rather not spend more time in this hole than I have to."

"I'd rather hear that much from the source," Shigaraki said. He leaned forward on his chair, a frown tugging at the corners of his mouth. He wasn't wearing any of his hands, but they were probably stacked in a pile somewhere close to him. All things considering and despite their location, nobody here looked any worse than when he last saw them all. But right now they were more concerned with Tokoyami. "Are you adjusting? Have you starting training yet?" His eyes narrowed to slits. "And what about your quirk?"

Tokoyami sighed. He took a seat on a wooden chair, praying it wouldn't break, and glared back at the villain. "I don't know what you expect from me, but it's going to take longer than this. After the hell you put me through, does it really even matter? But since I'm stuck in all this with you, I'll be upfront about it. As much as I hate to admit it, my current living situation could be worse." He could feel Dabi smirking behind him. Because clearly the worse is this place right here… Hm. Or perhaps I can just keep lowering my standards if it means that I find acceptance with whatever place I'm in. What do you think, Dark Shadow? No Response…That's alright, you don't have to answer now. "As for your other inquiries… frankly I don't think I can justify you with an answer if you're going to ask with such narrow-mindedness."

Shigaraki blinked. "I didn't invite you here to insult me," he grumbled.

"I wasn't invited. I was ordered."

Dabi snickered. "Don't worry, Leader. I told you he was alright. All he does is lay around the apartment all day. You wouldn't believe how much he sleeps."

Tokoyami scowled at him. "How would you know that? You're not even there most of the day."

Dabi continued. "Anyway, an injury like his will still need another month or so before we can start doing anything with him again. As for his quirk… well, I'm not sure if it's gotten any better for him, but you'll just have to be patient on that front too. We're working things out, in any case."

Shigaraki seemed to consider that, his gaze never leaving the bird-headed boy. "…So you're at the very least content?"

Tokoyami huffed indignantly. "Just so long as you don't try to pawn me off on another villain group."

The room went quiet for a moment, and Tokoyami wondered if he'd finally pushed his limits on what he can say in front of them. But looking around, nobody looked angry at him. Toga was curious, but Twice looked a bit hurt, and the others couldn't be read behind their literal and metaphorical masks.

Tokoyami sighed, relaxing his muscles and releasing the tension that had been in him since getting here. "You needn't hold concern over me. All things considering, I think I'm doing well enough. I'm still trying to get back on good terms with Dark Shadow, so you'll just have to be updated on that later."

Shigaraki leaned back in his chair. "That'll have to do for now. It's a small thing, but it's good that Dabi was able to get you out here. I can never tell if he's telling the truth on the phone, especially if it has to do with more… abrasive interactions."

He means when Dabi shoved me. I didn't think he'd actually report that. It's no wonder Shigaraki wanted to see me in person, though. I'm just glad I don't have to actually stay here. I thought I'd be more grateful to be out of that trashy apartment, but this is so much worse…

Shigaraki turned his attention to the room as a whole. "But more to the point, it's not every day we have everyone gathered here. We should at least take some time to go over our current line of plans and see what more we can do to accomplish them."

Dabi raised a skeptical eyebrow at that. "Oh, are you finally starting to line things up now that Kurogiri's gone? Listen, you already got me working two different jobs – whatever else the League has going on, I'm already doing my part, so you can count me out."

"We figured you'd have more of an interest in this, though!" Mr. Compress objected. "After all, it has to do with our funding, or our lack there-of."

"Wait, I thought Shigaraki was trying to find some old guy?" Twice corrected.

"No, he's trying to find new members, but it looks like I'm the only one that gives a shit about that," Dabi said, letting his irritation shine through.

Spinner tried to speak up from the corner. "N-no, what we're trying to do is fulfill—"

"I'm just here 'cause it's fun," Toga admitted readily, cutting him off.

I'll never understand how this group manages to stay together.

Shigaraki leaned forward, resting his head in his hands in what could only be defeat. Ultimately, he was still new to being alone in this rough leadership role. But it was his to deal with nonetheless. "You're all right to some extent… give or take. Yes, Kurogiri's absence has left us in a bit of a bind, but there are still some quests that we can finish without him. Finding new members has always been one of them. Kurogiri told me that if I wanted power, I'd have to seek out someone he knew, so I'm going to have to be on the lookout for that as well… but Mr. Compress is right: the most pressing matter of all right now is that fact that we're low on funds."

"What're you gonna do, rob a convenience store?" Dabi joked, kicking at some rubble on the ground.

"No!" Shigaraki snapped defensively. "That's not going to work, it's too on the radar. We need to rob someone that won't get us too much attention."

Tokoyami felt himself tense up, a quiet anger boiling within him. I know the League isn't in a bad place, but how low do you have to be to rob someone else of their earnings? But of course a group like this would see nothing wrong with stealing from those who can't defend themselves. And all that ever seems to accomplish is perpetuating a cycle of torment.

Shigaraki pulled up something on his phone and set it down on the coffee table in the center of the room. The screen was small, but when Tokoyami leaned forward he could see a picture of a large house with what looked like coordinates beneath it.

"It's a group called the CRC, or "Creature Rejection Clan." You might've heard of them if you know quirk history. But none of that matters. The only thing we need to concern ourselves with is getting a profit out of them, so the plan is to go in and grab anything that looks valuable. Anyone that gets in our way is disposable." Shigaraki looked up from the phone, gauging everyone's interest.

Tokoyami's previous feelings left him, becoming replaced by shock and, almost regrettably, amazement of all things. Wh… your target is against them of all people? He wasn't even sure what to say to that. He couldn't even object to that idea because of course he knew who the CRC were. They were part of an older generation, but he'd still been warned of them when he was younger. Maybe not as many people knew about them nowadays, but being the kind of person that Tokoyami was – a mutant as the name stuck among quirk-holders – he had to be careful, more so than most people. Why must morality always play these twisted games?

Shigaraki continued. "They're not as widespread or largely funded as they used to be, but Spinner says they've still got some valuables hidden there. He was also able to pinpoint their location. So we're going to raid their headquarters once we have a full plan and then we'll go from there. Once we have better expenses, we can pool our resources into tracking down potential recruits and, more importantly, tracking down links to Master. The CRC might be a pain to deal with, but if it's them then I don't think heroes will get involved."

Spinner had been relatively quiet this whole time. Tokoyami looked over to see that he was listening to Shigaraki, but his thoughts were somewhere else. He was biting nervously at one of his claws, and he kept his eyes focused on the ground. For someone who helped to initiate the plan, it looked like he still had some doubts.

"So your plan is to rob… an old cult," Dabi said, unimpressed as he looked at the small image of the mansion. "If you really think you can turn a profit on that, then go for it, but I'm not gonna be a part of it."

"You know, it'd be easier if you were more enthused about my plans," Shigaraki snarled. "This is for your sake, too. You better not be wasting the funding I've been giving you."

"Ooh! Are we all gonna get paid like that?" Toga piped up. "I wanna new coat!"

"Oh dear, if we're so tight on cash then perhaps I shouldn't have gotten that hotel room last week," Mr. Compress mused.

"What? No, it was a good idea, we needed it!" Twice objected. "You bastards made me sleep on the couch!"

Shigaraki groaned as the members of the League started up their chorus of complaints. "It's not like we need that much. You're all not getting the picture. We have a base and a target, what more do you want from me!"

"Clothes."

"A bed."

"Well, since you asked, I'm kind of in the mood for some sushi."

A deadly glare from Shigaraki quickly shut up the group, but Tokoyami could only imagine that it wouldn't last for very long. Anyone could see that the League Leader was struggling, but if Tokoyami were to give him some credit… well, at least he had a starting point. But regardless of that, he had half a mind to join the ranks of their complaints. After all, he, more than any willing participant here, held the right to object whatever grievous misuse of power the villain had in store. And yet he stayed quiet throughout the whole thing, taking in the discourse and being left to wonder exactly what drove these people to do what they did.

Of course, Dabi was the one who broke the silence. "Really hoping you're not considering this place a victory," he said, gesturing to the building they found themselves in. "Cause that would be sad. Weren't you looking for better places to stay? Or did you have to give up on that and default to an abandoned shack that Kurogiri showed you before he got thrown in jail?"

Shigaraki stood up from his chair, turning on him. And everyone else who'd been sitting, Tokoyami included, stood up with him in reaction. The only difference for Tokoyami was that instead of him rising to see what it was that would happen or standing for a cause, he took this chance to quickly step back a few feet, just in case Shigaraki's anger got the better of him, much like he'd seen happen in the past.

But the anger didn't come. Instead, he was just exasperated. "What happened to Kurogiri is… unfortunate," he strained, gritting his teeth and fighting to keep his voice even despite the taunts. "But that's beside the point. Why does it matter where our base is? You're not even here most of the time. Besides, this place isn't so bad, you just haven't had the pleasure of getting used to it. I figured you'd be used to being in places like this."

"Even I have standards," Dabi argued.

The start of a smile ghosted over Shigaraki's cracked lips. "Somehow I find that hard to believe."

Before that conversation could go any further, a crash sounded from the floor above them, causing the whole building to shudder unnervingly. For the sake of self-preservation, Tokoyami took a few more steps back so that he could be closer to the door. If this place was to come crashing down, then there was no way he'd let himself be a casualty of it. That would be an embarrassment.

Nobody else was nearly so concerned though. He supposed if it really came down to it, Shigaraki could disintegrate the whole place within a few seconds. I don't exactly know the rate at which his quirk works, though.

A collective sigh swept through the League of Villains.

Shigaraki turned to Twice, already irritated but still staying composed as best he could. "Twice, I thought you were fixing the upstairs? What did you do?"

Twice fiddled nervously with one of his measuring tape bracelets, but his expression behind his mask looked much more victorious. "I fixed it! It was never going to work anyway. But I did what I could!"

Somehow, Shigaraki didn't fully believe him. "Spinner, go fix the upstairs."

Spinner stood to attention, his brow furrowed behind his headband. "Eh? But I thought we were going over plans. That's why we waited until Dabi got here."

Shigaraki started scratching at his neck. His neck didn't look as red and scarred as it once was, but it was still a reoccurring habit. "You know the tentative plans at the moment, but right now I need to talk with Dabi."

"You just wanna load more responsibilities on me, huh? Geez, you already ask so much of me, but I guess I have some time to hear you out," Dabi said, his tone borderline mocking.

"I need communication with everyone if we're going to be getting anywhere. That's the only way these things can come together," Shigaraki explained, the thoughts he kept hidden from the others circulating in his mind. "And that starts with everyone trying a little harder to follow my orders." A pointed look at Spinner communicated all that it needed to.

The lizard slumped his shoulders. "Alright, I'll go see what's wrong," he said dejectedly.

Tokoyami watched him shoulder his swords and head out of the room, and he couldn't help but wonder more about the kind of person he was. Tokoyami had always had a feeling about him that set the man apart from the rest of the League. Not in a way that was entirely exclusionary, but just enough to be noticeable. Tokoyami has already had the displeasure of spending lengthy amounts of time with criminals like Dabi and Toga. Which he's gotten used to, but it still didn't paint a very good picture. Twice he was alright with – it was harder to fault someone that genuinely cared for the people around him. And Shigaraki and … they were characters in their own right, ones he'd sooner stay away from. But Spinner…

Tokoyami turned to Shigaraki. "Can I join Spinner?"

Shigaraki considered that for a moment. "…Why?"

Dabi turned back to him and narrowed his eyes suspiciously. "Hey, you better not be trying to pull something. Maybe you haven't noticed, but that's a lot harder to do with all of us here."

Spinner was paused in the doorway, looking between the two. "Er, no I can handle the kid for a bit if you two just need to talk things out. No sense having him sit around for that, I guess," he muttered, eying Shigaraki warily.

Dabi knew that something was up, and his icy gaze never left Tokoyami.

So what? Like you have any right to judge.

But Shigaraki didn't have any problem with it. "Yeah, go ahead," he said, a bit easier than he would've thought. Maybe he was starting to get tired of juggling all these people. If that were the case, then he'd have a hell of a time going forward if Dabi really did end up bringing him new members, whoever that entailed. But for now Tokoyami found that he could probably pester the Leader with requests on the same level as everyone else. I may be a captive, but you still want to treat me with some level of respect.

Tokoyami followed Spinner out the door, and only when they were out of sight of the others did he start to relax again. Not that he felt particularly endangered being around them, but if it was Shigaraki and Dabi talking then there was sure to be some underlying tension. He never could figure out what they really thought of each other, only that for some reason they supposedly trusted each other.

Spinner pulled him back into reality when he started climbing the stairs. "Hey, you're coming, right? I mean, that's up to you, but if you were just wanting to get out of that room then I understand that too."

Tokoyami started climbing up after him. "Well, you're not wrong there…"

The second floor of the building was an even bigger mess than the downstairs, which was unfortunate because there were some old beds in here that could be used if not for the state it was in. But the glaring issue was a giant hole in the roof. It looked like Twice had made an attempt at fixing the hole with discarded plywood from the inside, but judging by the mess of stacked furniture to reach the ceiling and fractured wood, it had all come crashing down. If anything, he might've inadvertently made the hole bigger. And if they weren't careful up here, they'd probably end up making another hole in the ceiling, one that reached down into the first floor.

Tokoyami sat back and watched as Spinner made an attempt at clearing up the space, since nobody else had yet to do that. It didn't look like the kind of thing he was used to. But he always made sure to keep Tokoyami in the corner of his vision, whatever it was he was doing. "I know you're not just here to watch me." He paused for a moment. "Or are you?"

Tokoyami looked around at the sea of discarded items and broken parts, thinking about what exactly this person was trying to accomplish. Not just here in the room, but with everything else. "No, it's just… it surprised me, the group that the League is targeting next."

Spinner hummed to himself absently. "Yeah. The CRC is the kind of group I'd never want to mess with alone, but…"

"But you're putting Shigaraki up to it?" Tokoyami asked, genuinely curious. Knowing what he did of that cult and the League, this attack on them was for purely selfish reasons. And whatever the League did, it was sure to leave behind a path of destruction. But it was difficult to protest that with the group they were about to deal with, as much as he hated to admit it.

Spinner ran his claws through his mess of obnoxious pink hair. Tokoyami could never tell if he was intentionally trying to stand out or if it was a consequence of how he'd ended up. In a way, that much was the same for Tokoyami: for as much as he'd rather be inconspicuous, staying in the shadows as a hero in training and wearing a simple black cloak wherever he went, his appearance constantly set him apart from a larger majority of the population.

"It doesn't matter to Shigaraki who we target right now, so long as we get something out of it," Spinner explained. "But it was more important to me than I'd like to admit to him. I think Stain would agree that groups like the CRC are better off not being around, given their history of, uh…"

"…Mutant discrimination," Tokoyami said somberly, finishing his thought. "Yes, I know." It was never an easy thing to talk about in a day and age where quirks and heroics were prospering. Much like the dwindling popularity and success of yakuza groups, the CRC were a relic of the past. But they also still existed, regardless of changing times, and if the spectacle with Overhaul was anything to compare to, then it was clear to see that these groups were still capable of causing harm. The lengthy history of this group in particular was brutal to say the least, but that history only really impacted a minority of people.

Spinner tossed some garbage into the corner of the room, watching as things crashed together before the dust settled. "It's just… they've hurt a lot of people. So I thought if we did this, maybe we could start to open up some change in the world. I don't know what Shigaraki's trying to accomplish as a whole, but maybe doing some good in society could get us out of this rut, you think?"

There it was again. Tokoyami remembered him talking like this, like Spinner wanted to do good. But he couldn't see if his actions aligned with what he was trying to say. "Spinner…" Tokoyami began carefully, wondering how far he could push his luck with this character. Of all the people in the League, he thought that maybe Spinner would be the one to listen to him the most. "The way you say these things, it makes you sound more like a vigilante – someone who wants to do heroic things without a permit. But you side yourself with a group called the League of Villains. Can you really claim to want good things, given the people you surround yourself with?"

"That's just a title!" Spinner explained with a strained smile. "It's a name that brings attention! Besides, I don't really have any connections or big aspirations like that… I just think if I could help someone ignite change in a world like this, then that might be enough. I want to think that Shigaraki has something in mind for us all, because I can't…" It looked like he was going to say something else, but he faltered. And then he shook his head, ridding himself of the doubts that plagued him. He readjusted his headbands to keep them from slipping and began heading back towards the door with a square of plywood under one arm. "But that's enough of that. I guess what really needs to be done right now is fixing this hole."

Tokoyami followed Spinner back outside, where he leaned the board against the building. With movement that felt all too natural, Spinner began scaling the wall, his hands sticking to the surface. It caught Tokoyami a bit off guard, considering that this was his first time seeing the villain doing anything that suggested a quirk. And ultimately it was for something mundane. The roof was flat, so he could stand on it easily, and he knelt down with his hand outstretched.

"Hey, Tokoyami, think you could pass me that board?"

Tokoyami nodded numbly and picked it up. It wasn't too heavy, just awkward to carry, but he held it up for Spinner to take from him. He disappeared for a moment, and Tokoyami briefly wondered if it'd be easy enough just to run away from this whole place while everyone had their backs turned. But he'd already tried that before – coincidentally, also under Spinner's watch – and that hadn't worked out. And much like last time, he was surrounded on all sides by miles of forest and rough terrain. He'd never make it.

Before he could ponder the idea further, Spinner's head reappeared over the edge. "I'll, uh, probably need to get more stuff to actually fix this, but it's better than what Twice had, I think," he mused aloud. His claws tapped on the edge of the house as he thought about what to do with the job that had been pushed on him.

The reptilian man looked preoccupied, but when Tokoyami cleared his throat he got his attention quickly.

"Spinner, I feel I should ask, since I don't know you very well. But what exactly is your quirk?"

"Ahh, well…" Spinner sat down on the roof with his legs hanging over the edge. "I don't know what else to tell you. You just saw it, after all. But my quirk is Gecko: I look like a reptile and I can climb like one too. That's…that's it." He didn't sound very excited about his own power. A lot of quirks were like that, where they weren't particularly useful. Of course, plenty of people were still being born with no quirks, too. It was unfortunate, though, that a power like Spinner's came with the extra cost of an appearance that stood out from the rest of the crowd. That being said, his quirk shared similarities with Asui's Frog quirk. If his quirk was defined as Gecko, then Tokoyami wondered if there were other things he could do besides just climbing surfaces. "But that's just me. What about you, Tokoyami? Your quirk is Dark Shadow and the whole avian appearance, right?"

Tokoyami grimaced at that. It was a fair question to ask, but a common misconception. "It's a bit more complex than that. Dark Shadow is all that's listed as my official quirk in records, and the reason why he has a bird-like appearance that matches mine is because of my choosing. He can take different forms, but the one I always have him in is what we've always agreed on. Essentially, my own bird-like features have nothing to do with my quirk."

Spinner seemed to seriously consider that. He climbed back down the wall, using the fullest extent of his quirk to do so, and came to stand in front of Tokoyami.

"Well, Dark Shadow isn't really working for you right now, yeah? That's okay, though! Not everyone has to have a powerful quirk." Spinner pulled out on of his swords, a slender katana that he always had strapped to his back. "We can still fight when we need to! I'm trained in the art of the blade."

Tokoyami couldn't help it. His eyes lit up, appraising the cold steel edge. It wasn't nearly as elaborate as the one that Tokoyami had in his room at home, far from this place, but that's because it served a functional purpose. His was mostly ornamental. His fascination with swords transcended their usefulness, in any case. But to actually wield one in battle… that was different. He'd always wondered if weapons like that would complement Dark Shadow in battle. It would definitely look cool. But those were thoughts he always held for his hero career.

"I've always liked swords," Tokoyami murmured fondly, his heart growing heavy despite himself as he reminisced about past aspirations.

Spinner cracked a smile. "I've got two! I know Dabi was teaching you close combat, but you can't go wrong with something like this. If you're feeling better next time you stop by, I wouldn't mind teaching you how to use one. It could come in handy when you least expect it, especially if your quirk continues to act up."

Tokoyami held a hand to his beak in contemplation and tipped his head to the side curiously. Maybe he still didn't fully understand Spinner yet, but at the very he had a certain amount of respect for him. Tokoyami didn't mind giving him some leeway in this situation. His ideals were closely aligned with Stain, and as gruesome as that incident had been, involving his own classmates, Spinner himself was something of an outlier. In a few ways, actually.

A smile was beginning to appear on Tokoyami's face, something he didn't normally share with members of the League. "I accept your proposal – show me the ways of the blade."

Spinner's eyes sparkled excitedly, like he'd just forged some important connection. He sheathed his sword and puffed out his chest. He was about to say something when someone from below intervened their conversation.

"Hey, Bird, get down here. I'm done with this place!" came a harsh voice, brimming with impatience.

And so beckons the hand of a demon, Tokoyami thought to himself with a sigh. He didn't think he'd actually be getting anything useful out of this trip, but perhaps there was a benefit to learning more about the members of the League. And just maybe, if he ever got the chance, he'd be able to change some of the ideals they held, or at least gain a better perspective, even from his position. But now Dabi was waiting for him, and this wasn't the sort of thing he could wait on. In the future, though, he might have to pay more attention to what these people were saying. He turned to head down the stairs.

Spinner leaned against the railing, looking down at Dabi. "Don't call him "Bird!" His name is Tokoyami!"

Tokoyami stopped halfway down the stairs, his feathers getting fluffed up in surprise. He wasn't actually expecting to receive that kind of support here. But Spinner probably had more years of not tolerating what people had to say based on his appearance. Not that I don't appreciate it, I just never expected to hear that. Should I be defending myself here as well? Because I already know I'm not a bird… I'm human. And in a way, that stark realization further cemented his appreciation for the Stain imposter, as strange as it was.

Dabi looked between the two, unimpressed. "Woah, there. Did I say something upsetting for a moment? No need to get so worked up over something so harmless. It's just a nickname."

Spinner slumped his shoulders, but his claws were still gripped tightly around the railing, indicating that he was still angry about the misuse of the name. "Well, names hold a lot of weight, so you shouldn't be doing that," he muttered.

Dabi's eyebrows came together, like he was figuring it out as it came to him. He wasn't as annoyed at the outburst as Tokoyami thought he might be. Just… thinking about it. He tried again.

"Tokoyami, we got a ride waiting for us. Let's get out of this dump, alright?"

Tokoyami nodded. Waving a quick goodbye to Spinner, he descended the rest of the stairs and joined Dabi at his side. Mostly he was relieved to be leaving this place and the shack of lethal villains. But also, he wanted more chances to talk with them at length. They weren't a group or a League as they called it. They were individuals, each with their own goals. He just wished he knew what they all saw in Shigaraki. I wouldn't mind talking with them more in the future. At the very least, Spinner is still figuring out where to put his heart.